The book with 41 contributions by 60 theoreticians, artists,activists (474 pages) is an anthology that presents and constructs aconfiguration of acting and fighting for New Feminism by feminists,lesbians and queers. New Feminism opens the discussion on the mostinternal changes of feminism today, asking what are the conditionswithin global capitalism that inform and reshape its concepts,paradigms and statements in relation to labor, migration, capitaland democracy. Claiming that a territory wider than just first worldcapitalism exists, we ask in the book for an urgent introductioninto feminist theory and practice of questions, topics and agendasthat react against wo/men trafficking, the forces of migration andbare lives, and reflect on possible new mode(l)s of theirrepresentation and articulation. New Feminism is a term that tries,firstly, to break the simple continuity in the feminist movementand, secondly, to re-engage new agencies and topics within themovement.

If we are to establish a new genealogy, it has to be done outsidethe known pattern of translation from unknown territories to thewell-known international arena, from unknown spaces into a knownvocabulary. We decided to get rid of such a process, askingprecisely those who already engage in their own spaces to formulateand reflect on this engagement, and to speak out. Even more, weasked them not to describe the state of things inside to thoseoutside, giving just a "picture" of the territory, but rather topropose a politically engaged break with the one and only historyand present of feminism. We asked them to question the alreadyestablished mainstream history, vocabulary and signifying processesof feminism. The idea was to present a "declaration" of veryimportant signatures and positions, which should no longer beperceived as a geographical extravaganza, but instead as a clear re-politicization of the movement of feminism. (Marina Grzinic / RosaReitsamer)

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Monday, March 24, 2008

In 1968, fury at the Vietnam war sparked protests and uprisings across the world: from Paris and Prague to Mexico. Tariq Ali considers the legacy 40 years on

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A decade before the French Revolution, Voltaire remarked that "History is the lies we agree on". Afterwards there was little agreement on anything. The debate on 1968 was recently revived by Nicolas Sarkozy, who boasted that his victory in last year's presidential elections was the final nail in the '68 coffin. The philosopher Alain Badiou's tart response was to compare the new president of the republic to the Bourbons of 1815 and Marshal Pétain during the war. They, too, had talked about nails and coffins.

"May 1968 imposed intellectual and moral relaivism on us all," Sarkozy declared. "The heirs of May '68 imposed the idea that there was no longer any difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood, beauty and ugliness. The heritage of May 1968 introduced cynicism into society and politics."

He even blamed the legacy of May '68 for greedy and seedy business practices. The May '68 attack on ethical standards helped to "weaken the morality of capitalism, to prepare the ground for the unscrupulous capitalism of golden parachutes for rogue bosses". So the 60s generation is held responsible for Enron, Conrad Black, the subprime mortgage crisis, Northern Rock, corrupt politicians, deregulation, the dictatorship of the "free market", a culture strangled by brazen opportunism.

The struggle against the Vietnam war lasted 10 years. In 2003 people came out again in Europe and America, in even larger numbers, to try to stop the Iraq war. The pre-emptive strike failed. The movement lacked the stamina and the resonance of its predecessors. Within 48 hours it had virtually disappeared, highlighting the changed times.

Were the dreams and hopes of 1968 all idle fantasies? Or did cruel history abort something new that was about to be born? Revolutionaries - utopian anarchists, Fidelistas, Trotskyist allsorts, Maoists of every stripe - wanted the whole forest. Liberals and social democrats were fixated on individual trees. The forest, they warned us, was a distraction, far too vast and impossible to define, whereas a tree was a piece of wood that could be identified, improved and crafted into a chair or a table. Now the tree, too, has gone.

The Rietveld Academie’s teaching methods are aimed at the individual student.A large appeal is made to the student’s own contribution and responsibility. The student is coached in his search for personal possibilities and interests.Reflection on the theoretical and social aspects of Fine arts and Design are important aspects of the course. In the search for quality, investigati­on and the experiment play a major part, thereby stimulating new developments within and between the different disciplines.The student is coached in his development by professional artists and designers. Professional guest lecturers give their own vision on their own artistic field.

The Rietveld Academy seeks to develop the capacities and creativity of the individual student to its utmost.

We respect the individual and respect his/her liberty to develop a personal approach and this way to decide on his/her own future. We have chosen for the aspects of investigation, the experiment and authorship. Next to this we value an open attitude towards the environment and we are keen advocates of the involvement with others and with society.

The Gerrit Rietveld Academieseeks to educate artistically talented young people in such a way that they are able to work independently and professionally in the field of Fine arts and design. The Academie aims at graduates being able to sustain the production of their work independently and to grow into artistic inspirators in their field.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

After decades of repression under Chinese rule, the Tibetan people's frustrations have burst onto the streets in protests and riots. With the spotlight of the upcoming Olympic Games now on China, Tibetans are crying out to the world for change.

The Chinese government has said that the protesters who have not yet surrendered "will be punished". Its leaders are right now considering a crucial choice between escalating brutality or dialogue that could determine the future of Tibet, and China.

China's economy is totally dependent on "Made in China" exports that we all buy, and the government is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration of a new China, respected as a leading world power. China is also a very diverse country with a brutal past and has reason to be concerned about its stability -- some of Tibet's rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must recognize that the greatest danger to Chinese stability and development comes from hardliners who advocate escalating repression, not from Tibetans who seek dialogue and reform.

The Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has called for restraint and dialogue: he needs the world's people to support him. Click below now to sign the petition--and tell absolutely everyone you can right away--our goal is 1 million voices united for Tibet:

Bidoun Projects presents a seminal film by Istanbul-based artist Emre Hüner,comprised of exquisitely drawn and animated landscapes that form fantastical future-retro worlds.

"Panoptikon has been produced by reuniting in a digital environment an archive formed of objects, plants and architectural components I drew on paper independently from one another, and animating this archive by using two-dimensional animation techniques." EH

Emre Hüner was born in 1977 in Istanbul, where he currently lives and works. Working in drawing, video and installation, he explores themes around hypertechnological industrial developments; man's relationship to nature and architecture; and the concept of risk in society. He draws on an archive of images collected from the internet, found photos and books.

Recent exhibitions include the 10th Istanbul Biennial, curated by Hou Hanru, and 'Fairytale', at TICA, the Tirana Contemporary Art Institute (2007).Hüner's artist's book Bent 003 was published by BAS, Istanbul, in 2007. He also took part in the exhibitions 'Video Invitational #2' (2006) at Via Farini and 'Con Altri Occhi' (2005) at the Palazzo della Ragione, both held in Milan.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

A Prior Magazine Presents: On Paper, a special collaborative project by A Prior Magazine and 5th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art

In collaboration with the 5th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art, A Prior Magazine has developed a two-fold project entitled On Paper.

‘Zuhandenheit’ [ready-to-hand] – a Heideggerian term used to explore the meaning and functionality of objects in relation to man / human beings – is activated throughout On Paper by making readable objects available to the visitors of the biennale; and by creating a tangible echo of the biennale works on paper. This ‘Zuhandenheit’ is not only grounded in the form of the project, but also in the content of the first part of On Paper: A Prior #17 with artists David Maljkovic, Daniel Knorr, Kristina Normann, Kateřina Šedá and Alexander Vaindorf.

The second part of On Paper consists of six separate publications and limited editions conceived by Ahmet Öğüt , Kristina Norman, Manon de Boer, Susanne Kriemann, Cezary Bodzianowski and Paulina Olowska. Each of these editions forms a unique ‘object’ that, as paper, is tied to the dematerialized realm of conceptual art, but that also cannot be thought of outside its object status. As such they may be the quintessential ‘things that cast no shadow’, thus sounding a tangible echo of certain works at the biennial.

On Paper will be presented at PRO-QM, Almstadtstrasse 48-50, 10119 Berlin, on Friday, April 4th, between 3 and 5 pm.

JRP Ringier We owe our idea of the contemporary exhibition to Harald Szeemann--the first of the jet-setting international curators. From 1961 to 1969, he was Curator of the Kunsthalle Bern, where in 1968 he had the foresight to give Christo and Jeanne-Claude the opportunity to wrap the entire museum building. Szeemann’s groundbreaking 1969 exhibition When Attitudes Become Form, also at the Kunsthalle, introduced European audiences to artists like Joseph Beuys, Eva Hesse, Richard Serra and Lawrence Weiner. It also introduced the now-commonplace practice of curating an exhibition around a theme. Since Szeemann’s death in 2005, there has been research underway at his archive in Tessin, Switzerland. An invaluable resource, this volume provides access to previously unpublished plans, documents and photographs from the archive, along with important essays by Hal Foster and Jean-Marc Poinsot. There is also an informative interview with Tobia Bezzola--curator at the Kunsthauz Zurich and Szeemann’s collaborator for many years. Two of Szeemann’s most ambitious exhibitions are presented as case studies: Documenta V (1972) and L’Autre, the 4th Lyon Biennial (1997). A biography, an illustrated chronology of Szeemann’s exhibitions and a selection of his writings complete this exhaustive survey.

habermas surprised conflict hating dutch by saying secularists shouldn't treat religious groups lower than themselves, that they have a big responsibility there to open a path of mutual recognition. he also noted that for religious groups a reflexive form of religious consciousness should be supported as a complimentary learning process.then somebody asked (from tilburg university) "Can you give the same speech in Istanbul or Ankara?"he replied "I'm invited to give a speech in Istanbul next June, I'll change my cultural references but it will be based on same ideas."mind you these words are coming from a 76 year old enlightenment philosopher...

ps: in this context he underlined that multiculturalism won't work as a solution since it is the racism of anti-racism.

mentioning post-secular, i just learned that the chief prosecutor of supreme court of appeals in turkey filed a lawsuit of party abolishment against AKP-after doing the same to DTP- listing 70 elected MPs and president gul to be banned from politics. we experienced that kind of top to bottom formulas never solve the problem. consistently erase and rewind.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Borders, Nations, Translations

The Political Limits of Cultural Trans-Nationalism

Conference14–15 March 2008Kunsthalle Exnergasse / WUK, 1090 Vienna

Home is where I understand and where I am understood, wrote Karl Jaspers once. If this home today is our globalized world, then its mother tongue cannot be but a translation, both linguistically and culturally. And yet, what if we want this home to have a political meaning, to be the place of freedom, justice and equality for all of us? Should we form a nation of translation and claim its sovereignty in an independent state? Who translates betrays: mother tongues, borders and, above all, the old political dreams. The betrayers of all the nations will never form a nation of their own. It is time for a new challenge. Is it possible to articulate the emerging trans-national culture of translation in non-cultural terms or, in other words, are we able to translate a trans-national cultural space into a common trans-cultural political action?

Programme:(Link to audio-streaming will be available on this page.)The conference will be held in English and in German (simultaneous translation).

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Next chapter in the ‘After Neurath' project. around the Austrian philosopher, sociologist and economist Otto Neurath (1882-1945), who lived in The Hague from 1934 until 1940. The exhibition focuses on Otto Neurath's relationship with architecture and his influence on urban development. Especially his ideas about the democratization of public space and how to reconcile the intimacy and tangibility of the ancient polis with the anonymity and diversity of the global metropolis have been very influential to protagonists like Paul Otlet, Cornelis van Eesteren, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky and Le Corbusier and resound in mainstream architectural and urban thinking of today.

The exhibition ‘The Global Polis' shows the innovative ideas about the modern metropolis of Neurath -and his famous protagonists- based on the social-democratic ideals of the interbellum. Neurath was especially eager to promote participatory forms of democratic exchange (a 'global polis'), and this exhibition shows his attempts in disciplines as varied as architecture, urbanism, graphic design and planning.

The exhibition is structured in three 'acts'.The first act, 'The Communal City,' examines Neurath's role in Vienna's extraordinary 'self-help' cooperative settlement movement, which inspired tremendous optimism in architects and planners.The second act, 'The World City', examines Neurath's efforts to internationalize mass education and social enlightenment through collaborations with Paul Otlet, Le Corbusier and others.The third act, 'The Functional City', looks at his work with the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) and the planner and architect Cornelis van Eesteren specifically. This section explores Neurath's struggles with the mass media and modernist architecture on the eve of the rise of fascism in Europe. It also raises deeper questions about the links between culture and politics today.

The show includes a combination of graphic charts, brochures, posters, portfolios, films and models. One of the signature pieces in the exhibition is a 5-meter-long 'Historical Table' which shows the development of the city -from prehistoric cave to modern metropolis. The CIAM architects Rudolf Steiger and Wilhelm Hess made it in 1935 in collaboration with Georg Schmidt for an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. It was shown for one day before it was taken down by exhibition organizers who feared political persecution. This is the first time it has been shown in Holland since.

Curator: Nader Vossoughian, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the New York Institute of Technology) and author of the soon to be released publication 'Otto Neurath. The Language of the Global Polis' (NAi Publishers, in collaboration with Stroom Den Haag, 2008).

Monday, March 3, 2008

IN THE DESERT OF MODERNITYColonial planning and after29 August – 2 November 2008Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin

With an exhibition, a variety of accompanying events and an international conference, the project IN THE DESERT OF MODERNITY will be presenting works of architecture and urban concepts that were developed in the 1950s and 1960s in North Africa and Western Europe against a background of anti-colonial struggles and trans-national migration. It tells the stories of the inhabitants, architects, colonial administrators and scientists who were involved in the controversy surrounding modernity and modernisation. IN THE DESERT OF MODERNITY examines the contradictions of colonial modernism and forms of resistance to it – a process of negotiation and appropriation that continues to this day.The function of North Africa and the Mediterranean region as a catalyst and channel for ideas becomes apparent when one examines exemplary construction projects. And it is equally evident that European modernity would have been inconceivable without colonialism. Even the notion of ‘learning from’ those that were formerly colonised, which remains a feature of post-war modern architecture, is rooted in colonialism. For the plans realised in North Africa by the architects involved in the ATBAT Afrique office, for example, which were built in a laboratory-like situation – especially in Casablanca and Algiers – played an important role not only in colonial modernisation projects, but also subsequently provoked a post-modernist critique of architecture in Western Europe and the USA. The ambivalent interlinkage of the emancipatory promises of the modernists and of colonialism as a system of domination is a clear demonstration of this fact. IN THE DESERT OF MODERNITY explores hitherto barely known reciprocal relationships. On the one hand, mass construction for the masses (during the period of decolonisation) migrated to the peripheries of cities in France, Italy and England, as well as to Switzerland and Germany. It was here that the suburbs so familiar to us today were developed for hundreds of thousands of people. On the other hand, however, the practice of living in North Africa in a period of anti-colonial liberation permanently challenged the certainties of technocratic planning held by Europe’s modernist architects. Colonial resettlement policies radically changed cities, modes of living and architectural discourse in North Africa and Europe. The exhibition vividly illustrates this historical development with architectural models, photographs, graphic designs and plans by George Candilis, Le Corbusier, Michel Écochard, Jean Hentsch, Alexis Josic, Loik Prat, Willy Ronis, André Studer, Roland Simounet and Shadrach Woods, as well as with contemporary documents, interviews, and rarely seen footage from weekly newsreels and films. And new works have been produced for the exhibition by the film-maker Mogniss Abdallah from Paris, the labor k3000 Berlin/Zurich media collective, and students at the Casablanca School of Architecture, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Delft University.